The appalling attack by a gang of around 50 masked Asian youths on St Phillip's Church in Girlington has rightly been roundly condemned by all sections of the Bradford community.

This terrifying attack, in which the intruders attempted to set fire to the church and hurled stones and racist abuse at its vicar, has sinister overtones. It is the first time that a Christian place of worship has been singled out for attack and it raises fears that the tradition of the sanctity of holy places is no longer recognised in some sections of the community.

It cannot be seen as tit-for-tat religious revenge because there have been no incidents involving mosques in Bradford as there have been in one or two other cities since the events of September 11.

Even if that were cited as an excuse - which would be totally and utterly unacceptable - it is clear that those who perpetrated the attack have no respect for either their own or anybody else's religion.

If they are Muslims, they are clearly beyond control of the mosques and presumably of their parents and they do an enormous disservice to a fundamentally peaceful and caring religion.

As Chief Superintendent Phil Read says today, the attack should not be seen as a signal for tit-for-tat retaliation. The best way for decent people of all racial backgrounds to deal with this is to rise above it and show that the vast majority in Bradford believe in respecting their neighbours, their neighbours' religious beliefs, and the community in which we all have to live together.